The Guardian of the Wind
by PearltheWereFox
Summary: A human named Pearl gets captured by Eggman and sent to Mobius. There she becomes another member of Sonic's friends. She also seems to have powers of the wind. This story will show growing love, fights, randomness, and other everyday things life throws at them. TailsXOC and ShadowXOC. Rated M for later chapters. All Sonic characters belong to SEGA.
1. Prologue: Christmas Eve

Normal POV:

"Okay…Got it!"

"Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you always have to hang up a mistletoe every Christmas party?"

"You know why: so I can get a kiss from my darling, Sonic."

The pink hedgehog slid down the latter and moved it back to the closet. Darlene the Hedgehog followed her while setting up the streamers.

"Don't you remember last year, when you had to kiss Knuckles?"

Amy nodded. "That's why I'm gonna keep my distance from that redhead. He's got Rouge anyway." She then picked up the star and handed it to Tails, who was quietly listening to the girls' conversation. The fox then flew up and placed the star on the tree.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but do you actually think Sonic is interested in you, Amy?" Darlene asked as she taped the last streamer to the wall.

"Yep. He just doesn't want to show it," the pink hedgehog replied, "Do you think Sha-"

The brown hedgehog covered her friend's mouth. "Amy!" she whisper yelled, "You said you wouldn't talk about that to anyone! Tails is here, remember?" She gestured over to the fox, who was just standing there, watching their every move.

"Sorry," she apologized once Darlene removed her hands. Just then, the front door to Sonic's mansion opened, and Rouge and Shadow walked in. They obviously came back from G.U.N. as they were wearing their uniforms.

"Ooh~. Nice," Rouge complimented, looking around the huge living room.

"Thank you," Amy said, curtsying.

"Where's the blue boy?" Shadow asked, looking around as well.

Tails flew over to the 4 and replied, "Out grocery shopping and getting the last few gifts."

"Christmas shopping? Now? Talk about last minute; it's Christmas Eve, isn't it?" Shadow chuckled.

"Says the guy who didn't go Christmas shopping until Darlene asked him if he would like to go shopping for gifts with her, which was about 4 days ago," Rouge smirked.

Shadow's cheeks turned a light pink. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about that," he growled through clenched teeth.

"Sorry. Couldn't help it, but I found it so cute that you just couldn't say no to her."

"Rouge…"

"When you came back, you both were smiling at each other."

"Rouge..."

"And didn't you say you took her to an Italian restaurant afterwards?"

"Rouge. Shut. Up," Shadow growled again, his blush glowing a bit brighter. Amy and Rouge giggled at Shadow's shyness, only making him glare at them.

"Stop it, Shads. It's okay to have a soft spot for Darlene," Amy said, still giggling.

"Amy…" Darlene said, embarrassed, but before she could protest, the front door opened again, this time with Sonic, Knuckles, Silver and Blaze entering the room.

"Hey! Merry Christmas, everyone!" Silver said, waving to the other 5.

"Hey Silver!" Darlene said, running up to hug him.

Sonic, after closing the door, walked over to Darlene and hugged her as well.

"Good to see you again," the blue hedgehog says, kissing Darlene behind her left ear, "Let me wrap thes last minute presents, and we can start the party."

As Sonic ran over to the back of the mansion, Shadow chuckled once again. "What's so funny?" Knuckles asked as he put his presents under the tree.

"The 'fastest thing alive' waited 'till the last minute to get most of the gifts," Shadow said, smirking.

"Okay. When did _you_ get most of _your_ gifts, Shadow?" Blaze questioned.

"4 days ago," Rouge answered for him, much to Shadow's embarrassment, "With Darlene!"

"Oh, so you went on a little date, huh?" Blaze asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"I-I wouldn't call it a-a d-date…" Darlene stammered, blushing and looking away.

"Oh, Darlene, you know you thought of it as a date. Don't say you didn't," Rouge teased, causing the brown hedgehog's cheeks to turn red.

"ROUGE! SHUT UP!" Darlene shouted.

"See? I'm right," Rouge said proudly.

"No you're not! Shut up!"

"Darlene and Shadow sittin' in a tree," Rouge sang, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes the baby in the baby carriage."

"Whoa whoa whoa, Rouge," Shadow said in a serious tone, "You've got it all wrong. We're just best friends. We can be best friends and not be in love with each other, right Darlene?" He glanced at her, waiting for her approval.

"Y-yeah…right," Darlene said, smiling shyly and trying to sound convincing.

"How about we make some treats for the party, guys?" Amy asked, trying to change the subject. Tails, Rouge, Darlene and Blaze nodded and followed Amy into the kitchen. Knuckles and Silver looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Amy as well. Shadow just walked over to the couch and sat down. He placed his right hand on his chest and sighed; he felt as if a weight had been lifted off him.

_Why do I feel so relieved? It's not like I love Darlene. She's a best friend to me… like _her… Shadow thought to himself. He then let his mind wonder off to when he and Darlene went Christmas shopping. He remembered her smiling whenever she saw something she liked or the items she wanted to get for her friends. Seeing her smile had made him smile as well. He also remembered how nervous he felt when Darlene held his hand so they wouldn't get separated. Then there was when they were heading home…

Darlene had thanked him for everything that they did that day since she figured that she was wasting his time and asked if there was anything she could do to repay him. He had said no, but then a cold breeze had begun to blow, causing the male hedgehog to shiver unconsciously.

That action did not go unnoticed by the female. "Shadow, are you cold?"

He shook his head again. "No, I'm not," he replied, yet another shiver had proven her otherwise. She then took off her scarf and wrapped it around the black hedgehog's neck.

"Better?" she asked, grinning. He nodded slowly; he was not afraid to admit that the scarf helped him feel warm inside and out. They then walked home, smiling at each other and feeling…happy…

"Shadow? Shadow!"

The black hedgehog was brought out of his thoughts by the Brown Blur.

"Hey. Sorry for interrupting your thoughts, but…I was wondering if you would like to…help out with the treats…" Darlene asked nervously, looking down at her lap and twiddling her thumbs.

Shadow sighed and shook his head. "No…not now…Maybe some other time," he mumbled.

Darlene smiled sweetly at him. "Okay. Just wondering." She then kissed him on the cheek and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Shadow speechless.

Then Sonic came back out with the newly wrapped presents. "Hey Shads," he said as he put the presents under the tree. He then sat down next to the Black Blur. "Shadow? You alright?" He waved a hand in front of his face. "Your face is a bit...red…"

Shadow pulled himself out of his trance, and Sonic flinched. _Uh oh. I'm so getting punched in the face!_

Instead of punching Sonic, however, Shadow just said, "Uh, I'm fine. I think I spaced out for a second there." He then looked over at the kitchen door, where he saw Darlene looking at the two rivals. She smiled and winked at him before she left.

Suddenly, he heard Sonic smirk and felt him playfully elbow his left arm. "Gotta crush on a certain someone, Faker?"

"W-what?!" Shadow said, turning his head to Sonic, "I'm not in love with anyone! What makes you think that?!"

"Well, you had a love struck look on your face that basically screamed 'I love you!'"

_That _remark resulted in a punch to the face.

"Well, I haven't," Shadow hissed, crossing his arms.

Just then, everyone else came out with cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and chips and dip.

"Ready to start the party?" Silver asked excitedly. Everyone (except Shadow) cheered.

Then the party began. Everyone was dancing, playing games, eating. Even Shadow decided to sneak a couple cookies.

A bit later, Darlene was on the balcony, looking at the stars. Sonic then joined her and handed her a soda. After a minute of silence, Darlene finally broke it. "Hey Sonic?"

"Hm?"

"I'm curious…What's it like to have a sidekick?"


	2. Chapter 1: The Capture

Pearl's POV:

"No! I tell you, woman, Pearl will come back to you no more! You mean. You bad influence. Why did we get divorce? Because you smoke. Because you abuse family. Pearl no come back! Good bye!"

My father finally hung up the phone, and I ran up to him and hugged him. "Good job for standing up for us," I said.

"_Arigat__ō,_" my father said and hugged back.

My name is Pearl Kaze. As you can tell, my parents are divorced because my mom abused us. A lot. My mother is American, and my father is Japanese. Both my father and I know both languages, but while I'm fluent in both, my dad isn't that good with English.

"Happy Birthday, Pearl," my father told me. That's right; it's my 18th birthday today. I've always wanted to live on my own. Now that I've found a house, I can, though I am going to miss my father dearly.

"_Arigat__ō, _father," I say. I then grab my bags and head for the front door, my dad right behind me so he could see me off. I then give him a kiss and tell him goodbye. He does the same and adds that I'm more than welcome to come back, and I hesitantly leave.

I enter my car and start it up. I then wave goodbye to my dad one last time, and I drive to the forest my home was supposed to be in. I drive for a while 'till I get to a house in a clearing. I park and leave my car and walk over to it.

"Oh ho ho! You shall not take a step further, young lady!"

A giant robot fell from the sky in front of me…on its face. I giggle. Then the man controlling the robot pulled himself out, though he struggled to do so.

"Stupid…narrow…seat!" the man had said before he finally popped himself out.

"W-who are you?" I say nervously as he stood up. The man said nothing and grabbed me. "Hey!"

"You're coming with me!" he said as he pressed a button, and a hovering sphere…thing appeared. He got on, taking me with him, and we were taken someplace else. I then noticed we were in the sky! I began to struggle and call for help.

"Hey now. Don't be like that," the man said, "I'll take you to a magical place where you will serve me."

"NO! LET ME GO!" I shout as I began to glow. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew behind me, knocking the man and I out of the hovercraft thing. As I fall down to Earth…I feel myself begin to change. Then I blacked out…

*_ Arigat__ō_\- (Japanese) Thank you


	3. Chapter 2: Love

Shadow's POV:

"OMG! The new Rosie the Pop Kat album, Solar Power! Thanks, Darlene!"

As I watched Darlene shyly say your welcome to Sonic, I rest my head on my right fist. Apparently, Sonic has a tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve (I'm guessing 'cause the blue hedgehog couldn't wait for his presents), and this year, he had chosen his gift from Darlene.

"Can we listen to it as everyone else chooses their gifts?" he asked. All the other guys nodded, except me of course. Seriously, it seems like all the guys like Rosie. Even married guys. I don't understand why they would claim they love Rosie when they already have a significant other. Personally, if I ever fall in love with anyone (which I'm sure I won't), I'd stay with that person forever and never say I love anyone but that person.

Once Sonic put his new CD in, Rosie's version of Problem came on. He sat down next to me as Darlene chose her gift. He then sighed and whispered, loud enough for me to hear, "Oh, I'm so in love."

"That's what they all say," I grumble, "How come even married guys fawn over Rosie and say they love her? She's just a singer."

"I'm pretty sure most guys say that because they like how she looks and just want some action with her…if you know what I mean," Sonic responded, winking at me. I make a fake gagging noise at the last part and turn my head away from him. He continued, "While I also like her looks, I also love to hear her voice. Hearing it fills my stomach with butterflies and my heart with rainbows."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the Skyward Sword reference. I turn back to him to see his muzzle bright red and his mouth in a huge grin. Out of all the guys I've heard claim they love the cat (which is literally all the guys), Sonic's the only one I've ever seen blush when he thinks about her. Maybe he does love her…

Now the question is what Amy will think of that.

"Darlene! You look so CUTE!" said hedgehog squealed. "Rouge chose the perfect nightgown for you. That is so adorable!"

Sonic and I looked over to the tree, and we saw Darlene in a lacey lavender nightgown that fit her body perfectly and showed her…curves… I mentally slapped myself in the face. _Get ahold of yourself, Shadow. You're the Ultimate Life Form, not a love struck, drooling animal._ Darlene then noticed us and gave us that signature shy smile of hers. I soon felt and unfamiliar feeling slowly grow inside me.

"Shads? You okay?" Sonic asked me as he handed me a tissue. I looked at him, confused until I put a hand to my nose.

It was bleeding.

I heard Darlene and Amy giggle, most likely at my reaction, which made me blush more and more blood soak my right pointer finger. I took the tissue and stopped the nosebleed. Gosh, I've never felt so…embarrassed. I got up to throw the tissue away, but as I walked to the trash can in the kitchen, I noticed that my legs were feeling very weak.

Sonic must have also noticed because I heard him ask, "You sure you alright?"

I nod. "Yeah… I think I just need to take a shower… It's helps me calm down and collect my thoughts."


	4. Chapter 3: Animalistic Feelings

**(A/N: This chapter contains a masturbation scene. If you are underage or you are sensitive to these things, proceed to the next chapter or just leave in general. Thank you. **** )**

Shadow's POV:

I got into the shower and started it up. I began to wash my fur, trying to ignore the picture in my mind. Usually, showers help me calm down, but… I've still got that feeling in my gut-no… it's lower than that. I hate it when my body experiences something I have yet to understand.

Ugh…I can't think straight. I can't un-see Darlene in that nightgown, smiling shyly at me… The feeling's just growing stronger and stronger.

Suddenly, I heard knocking. The door then opened, and I heard a familiar, sweet voice. "Shadow?" It was Darlene.

"Hey," I say, rinsing my quills. I felt my muzzle grow a little warm as the image showed up in my mind's eye again.

"Hey," she says back, "I just need to change back into my regular clothes."

"Okay," I reply. As I continued to rinse the shampoo off my quills, I notice that my hand was unconsciously reaching out for the curtain. I pull it back. _No. Don't pull it back now, _I think to myself, _Darlene's getting her clothes back on! She might be…naked…_

My eyes widened in realization. _…Fuck…_ I cursed in my mind. I know these feelings now. The professor told me I'd experience these feelings one day…These… "animalistic feelings" as he called it…

After trying to busy myself with rinsing the rest of my body, trying to ignore the feelings (to no avail), I finally gave in. _I'm such a pervert…_ I scolded myself, _but I guess one little peak won't hurt…_

I quietly move the curtain and peaked one eye out, half-expecting the brown hedgehog to see and scold me for it. However, her eyes were closed at the time, and she was in the middle of taking her nightgown off (She must have misplaced her clothes because I expected her to be getting dressed now). Oh my… She looks so beautiful… I then began to feel something growing.

I pulled the curtain back quickly yet quietly and waited for Darlene to leave, as I now had something else to take care of. When she did, I took a big sigh of relief and leaned against the wall opposite of the shower head. I need to take care of my little problem before I get out.

…But what do I do? This is my first time getting one of these, after all. Do I just…rub it? I wrapped my left hand around _it_ and began to move it back and forth…back and forth… "Oh…" I moaned quietly. This feels good. Almost too good… I suddenly felt a tightening in my stomach. I must be about to reach my climax. I rub faster and cover my mouth with my free hand so I don't moan too loud and get caught. Oh, it's coming out! I let out a muffled groan as I squirt semen onto the shower floor. I feel myself relax as I finally turn the shower off and dry myself off. Taking showers is also times to think about recent things going on, and this time… the answer to my thoughts when I first came in to take one is not what I expected…

I walk out of the bathroom and head back into the living room. Darlene is the first to notice. "Hey Shadow," she says, waving at me. I wave back, trying to keep my newly found feelings hidden. I then walk over to her and just as I'm about to tell her I wanted to speak to her in private, I heard Tails shout something from the other side of the room.

"_Someone's collapsed in the snow!"_


	5. Chapter 4: Discovering a Fox

Darlene's POV:

Silver opened the door and used his psychokinesis to bring in the Mobian. As he set her on the couch and Sonic went to get a blanket, everyone else waked over to the body. It was a pink fox. A female one from the looks of it. I rubbed her fur to see if she was just cold or if she was freezing to death. "Oh my gosh! She's freezing!" I say in shock.

"I'm going to get some soup for her," Amy said as she ran into the kitchen, just as Sonic came back with a blanket. I took it and wrapped the fox in it.

"She'll be alright, won't she?" Tails asked.

"Well, she's still breathing," Rouge replied, "That's a good sign."

"We still have to warm her up though," I add. As soon as I said that, Amy came out with a bowl of soup.

"Is she awake yet?"

"Not yet," Sonic replies.

"Okay. I'll leave the stove on to keep the soup warm then." She then went back into the kitchen.

I looked over at Tails to see how he was doing. He looked very worried. I sat on my knees and took his hand. "She'll be alright," I tell him, and he smiled at me.

Then I got an idea. "Blaze?" I called.

The purple cat turned to me from her book. "Yeah?"

"Do you think you could…" I gesture over to the fox, and she sighed.

"Alright." She walked over to her and place a hand on her forehead to begin to give her warmth.

Then she began to stir!

"She's waking up," I say, relieved. Shadow, who had stayed silent throughout the whole incident, took a step closer to the girl and sat on his knees.

"Hey," he whispered in the girl's ear, "Wake up. Are you alright?"

I end up involuntarily blushing; if only he'd do that to me…

Then the fox opened her purple eyes.


	6. Chapter 5: The Newbie

Pearl's POV:

I opened my eyes only to see a red-eyed creature in front of me. Wait, is that _Shadow?!_ I immediately sit up in shock, and I also see Tails, Blaze, Silver, Knuckles, Rouge, Sonic, Amy, and a brown female hedgehog. "Huh? What? Am I dreaming?" I stammered.

"Nope," Shadow replied, "This is reality."

"H-how it that possible?! You guys are video game characters! You're nothing but code!"

"Maybe on Earth, we are, but on Mobius, we're living creatures," Tails replied, "What's your name?"

"I'm P-Pearl…" I said, still in disbelief.

Amy then walked up to me, holding a bowl of soup. "Want some, Pearl?"

I took it and said, "Thanks, but could you stop treating me like a child? I happen to be 18, thank you very much."

As I drank the soup, Rouge commented, "You sure don't look 18. Tails, could you use that thingy-ma-jigger Darlene gave you?"

"The Info-matic 200? Okay. Pearl, I'll need a strand of your fur."

I plucked a strand of fur and gave it to the yellow kitsune. He smiled and thanked me, and I couldn't help but smile as well. He put the fur into the Info-matic, and I saw his eyes widen.

"You sure you're 18?"

"Positive! Today's my 18th birthday!"

"Well…" Tails rubbed the back of his head nervously, then he turned to the brown hedgehog. "Darlene, did your age change when you first arrived here?"

So Darlene's like me; we both were human before arriving here. She shook her head and replied, "Not that I know of."

"Why?" I asked.

"Pearl…the Info-matic says you're only 12."

My eyes widened in shock. "_Nani?!_"

Rouge giggled. "Maybe those 2 extra tails took away those extra 6 years."

"Huh?" I turned around, and, sure enough, I had 3 tails!

"Rouge!" Darlene scolded, "Don't make fun of her because she has 3 tails!"

"Yea!" Tails added, "Look at me! I've got 2 tails, and you've never made fun of me!"

It seemed as if Rouge was too busy laughing to hear what they had said. I got off the couch, setting my bowl down, and hugged the yellow fox. "Thanks, Tails…" I say.

"Oh, uh…no problem…" Tails chuckled nervously.

"By the way," Silver told everyone, "where is Pearl going to sleep? I'll be honest; couches are not comfortable when you're trying to sleep."

"She could always sleep in my room," Darlene spoke up.

"But where will you sleep?" Rouge asked, finally though her laughing fit, "The only room with a big enough bed is-"

The bat trialed off, and Darlene seemed to realize what was gonna happen next since she facepalmed and said, "Oh…no…"

"Wow, Darlene, you've only gone on 1 date with him, and you're already wanting to-"

Darlene cut her off. "Rouge. 1: That wasn't a date. 2: I don't like him that way!"

Rouge turned to Shadow. "Well I guess it all depends on if Shadow will let you sleep in his room tonight."

Shadow growled. "I will, but don't get the wrong idea! I'm only doing this because I think Pearl will be better off sleeping in Darlene's room." He crossed his arms and looked away from everyone else, but I could see a small blush forming on his cheeks.

Then everyone sort of disbanded after that. Darlene walked up to me and asked, "Hey Pearl? Do you want to use your last name or do you just want to be called Pearl the Fox? I'm asking this because I prefer to be called Darlene the Hedgehog when I'm like this, and I was wondering if you were like that as well."

I thought for a minute, and I told her, "Actually, since I'm a female fox, I'd like to be called Pearl the Vixen,"

*_Nani-_(Japanese) What


	7. Chapter 6: The Night Before Christmas

Shadow's POV:

I opened the door to my room and let Darlene in before closing the door behind me. We both sat on my bed, and while I lie down and stare at the ceiling, Darlene began to play a game on her 3DS. Silence followed. The air suddenly began to feel tense around me. I feel like I should start a conversation, but I don't know what to say. I turn to my guest, and I see her concentrated on something in her game.

As I turn back to the ceiling, Darlene let out a triumphant "Yes! I did it!" I sat up and asked her, "What?"

"My mii is getting married!" I gave her a confused look. "I'm playing Tomodachi Life. I made a mii that looks like me, and she's getting married to another mii I made."

"So, it's sort of like a life simulator-thing?"

"Sort of."

"So…who'd you get married to?"

Darlene then blushed and looked back at the 3DS screen. "Well, um…"

"Did you give him a weird name?"

"N-no… It's just that…"

"It's just that what?" I knew I was bugging her, but for some reason, I wanted to know who Darlene's mii look-a-like married.

"He's a human version of you…"

I stared at her for a few seconds before saying, "That's it? You're making a big deal out of nothing."

"B-but what about you saying that we can be best friends without falling for each other?"

"It's just a game. It's not like it's gonna predict our future or anything like that."

Darlene stared at me, and then she looked at her at her 3DS. Then she laughed. "I guess I am taking this game a bit too seriously." Then she sighed. "I'm still looking forward to the baby they may have."

I did a double take. "Baby?"

"Yea. A married couple can have a baby in this game."

"I see…" That only seemed to make things more tense. I checked the time. 10:30 pm. I yawned and lied back down on my bed. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to get some sleep."

"Okay," Darlene replied as she saved her game and stopped. She then set her 3DS on the nightstand on the right of her and turned off the lamp. Then she lied down as well and snuggled up next to me. I thought about asking her why she was doing this, but I decided not to and let her be close to me.

"Goodnight, Darlene," I said, kissing her forehead. She smiled at me, and we both closed our eyes.

As we laid there, though, I could have sworn I heard Darlene say something, but I could barely hear it, and I couldn't tell what she said.

"Shadow?"

I opened my left eye. "Hm?"

"I said I- Nevermind. Forget I said anything. It's…it's not really _that_ important." She then closed her eyes and fell asleep. That made me even more curious. What did she say? She looked a bit disappointed when she said nevermind, so she was probably lying about it being important…to her, at least. Though it's nice that she tends to think of others…kind of like Sonic, but she can also stand for what she believes in as well, like me.

I continued to watch her sleep as I wasn't sure what else to do. She looked like a princess as she did. My mind then began to think about how she was overreacting when she said her mii was getting married to my mii. The more I thought about it…

…the more I began to wonder if Darlene actually loves me. Was that what she said when I couldn't tell what she said?

I wrapped my arms around her sleeping body in an embrace and closed my eyes. One more thought crossed my mind before I fell into a deep slumber: _Am I really in love with Darlene…?_

…_Or is this just a lust for her body…?_


	8. Chapter 7: Christmas Shenanigans

Darlene's POV:

I woke up to the sound of snoring, and I rolled over to my left to see Shadow still sound asleep. That's right; I had to stay in Shadow's room for the night because I gave mine to Pearl. I snuggled next to him, and I accidentally woke him up.

"Sorry…Merry Christmas!" I said, looking away as he looked at me, but then something caught my eye. Shadow looked over at what I was staring at, and he quickly covered it.

"I-it's not what it looks like!" he stammered, obviously embarrassed. I couldn't help but giggle; I've never seen Shadow act like this. I rub his shoulder in a comforting way.

"It's okay, Shadow," I say, "That's perfectly normal."

"How is it _normal_?!"

"Well…I think it shows that you have a healthy mind and body… I think…"

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Then why are you so nervous. It's almost as if you're lying."

"N-no! Why would I do that?! I don't know much about the male body, okay?!"

Shadow smirked. "Oh really...Do you maybe want me to teach you about it?"

I was shocked at what he just said, and I was about to say something when Amy burst through the door, holding a stick with a mistletoe at the other end of it. "MERRY CHRISTMAS, YOU TWO!"

"Amy, you're gonna wake everyone else up," I said.

"Everyone else _is_ up."

"Oh…" I replied, dumbfounded.

"Um, Amy?" Shadow said, looking at the mistletoe, "Why do you have that? Were you trying to get Sonic to kiss you?"

"Not really, but that's a great idea!" Amy said, walking closer to us.

"Amy, we're not gonna kiss," I told her, slightly annoyed. Then she gave me a "you know you want to" look. I did want to. I really did, but I'm afraid of Shadow rejecting me.

We stayed where we were in silence, and it became obvious Amy wasn't leaving without seeing us kiss. I expected Shadow to just up and leave, but he didn't. I guess it hasn't gone down, has it? I was about to leave when I felt a hand grab my left arm. I expected it to be Amy, but in reality, it was Shadow.

"No pictures," he said as he pulled me over to him and kissed me. It ended just as fast as it had started, and he added, "And this doesn't mean _anything_!"

"Yay! I gotta tell Rouge!" the pink hedgehog said as she ran out the door. I got out of bed and stretched.

"So... I take it you don't like me that way?" I suddenly blurted out.

"I'm not saying I love you…" the black hedgehog responded, "but I'm not saying I don't love you either." I glanced over at him to see him lost in thought. "To be honest, I don't know what I feel for you right now. Are you just a friend? Are you a best friend? My one and only…?"

I smile; it's not every day Shadow expresses his feelings to me. "Well, I hope you find out soon, now let me just find my Christmas dress, and I'll be out of your way."

-later-

"Hey, Pearl! How'd you sleep?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen.

"Good. It was better than being on the couch," Pearl replied, "I heard that Amy made you and Shadow kiss. What's all the commotion with that, anyway?"

"Yes, she did," I told her, "Um… you see, I told Amy and Rouge that, well, I have a crush on Shadow, and now they're doing all it takes to get Shadow to realize my feelings for him. Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful for that, but I want our relationship to grow and develop. It's just they don't seem to get it!"

"Speaking of which, where _is_ Shadow?" the pink fox asked.

"Right here," said a dark voice, causing me to jump.

"Shadow?! How long have you been there?" I asked in shock.

"Ever since you said you were grateful for something someone was doing."

"Who wants CINNAMON ROLLS?" Sonic asked as he placed a tray of them on the table. Everyone got one…except Shadow. Darlene noticed this and got an extra. She walked over to Shadow and asked, "Want one?"

He grabbed the extra one and eyed it as if it might be filled with poison. I ate the rest of mine while waiting for Shadow to take a bite. He soon did, and he said, "It's okay."

I smile. "I'm glad you like it."

A bit later, when everyone was in the living room, Sonic walked over to us and asked, "How are they?"

"Delicious!" I say.

"Okay," Shadow responded.

"Oh no! Darlene!" all 3 of us heard Amy say. We look up to see Sonic and I were standing under the mistletoe Amy put up yesterday. Sonic and I look at each other, and he scratched the back of his head nervously. I glanced at Shadow nervously, and he looked indifferent…except his free hand, which was clenched into a fist.

I looked back to Sonic, who now was closer to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and gently kissed me. My muzzle turned completely red in embarrassment. We then looked away , avoiding eye contact with each other.

I ran over to the Christmas tree and asked everyone, "How about we exchange gifts, shall we?"

Everyone looked at each other. Then Pearl walked over to me and sat down, and everyone else followed.

After that, the day went pretty smoothly. We all exchanged gifts. We played games. Even Amy finally got Sonic under the mistletoe, though it was a struggle to get him to kiss her. Shadow had to hold him down until Amy got a kiss in.

"Hey! What's the big deal?!" Sonic had said.

"I was forced to kiss Darlene, now you have to suffer the same fate," Shadow had replied in a devilish tone, and then the Blue Blur was kissed by Amy.

-later-

It was nighttime, and I had to sleep in Shadow's room again. He was already covered up, lost in thought. I got covered up as well and snuggled up next to him, causing him to flinch away.

"Come on, Shads. Where's the Christmas spirit?"

"Christmas is over."

"I know, but still. Smile a little. Spend time with the ones you love," I reply. Shadow seemed to ponder what I said and suddenly pulled me closer to him.

"You make me feel weak…" I heard him mumble, "I'm the Ultimate Life Form. I'm supposed to be stronger than this. I don't need anyone."

"Shadow, sometimes you need someone to help you though problems in your life. I know you don't want to be attached to someone just to see him or her die, but everyone should have at least someone that they trust enough to talk to." Shadow stared at me as I grabbed my 3DS and began to play Pokémon Alpha Sapphire.

"…Darlene…?"

"Hm?"

"I'm a bit curious. What's your relationship with Sonic?"

I sigh; after the whole incident that happened earlier, I should have known this was coming. "I will admit, I used to have a crush on Sonic, but now he's a bit like an older brother to me." Then a thought struck me. I paused my game and turned to Shadow. "Why did you want to know?"

"Uh…" Shadow was speechless for a bit. "I don't really know. It's just been bugging me the whole day since you had to kiss him."

I couldn't help but smile. "Um, is it possible that you're jealous of Sonic?"

"Me? Jealous? No,no,no,no,no. I'm not in love with anyone. I'm not jealous of anyone," he retaliated, crossing his arms and turning his head away from me. He then laid down, apparently trying to go to sleep. I save my game and stop, laying down as well. I look up at the ceiling, as I wasn't that sleepy yet.

Then I heard snoring.

I turned over to the Black Blur, who was sound asleep. Something about him sleeping peacefully made me smile. I snuggled up close to him and kiss him on the lips. I couldn't help it; he looked so peaceful.

As I closed my eyes, trying to go to sleep, I began to hear him mumble things in his sleep.

"No…Sonic, get away from her… Don't take her away…"

_Don't take who away? Maria? _I thought, _No, why would Sonic take _Maria _away?_

"No, stop. Don't. I…I love-"

He stopped in mid-sentence. I opened one eye to see that he must have woken himself up.

"You were talking in your sleep," I informed him, making him look at me, "Who was Sonic taking away?"

He stared at me with a black expression. Then, from what little light I had, I could see his cheeks turn red, and he turned to his left.

"I-it was nothing. Forget it," he responded. A bit later, snoring was heard once again.

_Hm, _I thought before closing my eyes once again, _I'm getting a sense of déjà vu._


	9. Chapter 8: Finally Catching On

Shadow's POV:

"Yes. I will be careful. Okay. _Sayōnara_, father."

Pearl put the phone back and thanked Tails in Japanese again for letting her use it to explain things to her father. The yellow kitsune shyly smiled and looked down at the ground. I wonder if he's starting to like her. I was about to leave the living room when that Faker bumped into me.

"Hey, watch it!" I snapped.

"S-sorry…" Sonic said, rubbing his chest, "I was just wondering if you could help Darlene take the lights and other stuff off the tree, please? I gotta head back home to fix things for Pearl since she'll be living with Tails, Darlene and I from now on."

Yes. Not only does Sonic have a mansion, he has a house. He only uses the mansion for parties like the one we had a few days ago for Christmas. I growl as I head over to the tree. Why can't he quickly do it himself?

"Shadow, you don't have to. I don't want to waste your time," Darlene told me as she took the tinsel off.

"You're not the one wasting my time," I told her, "Sonic is wasting my time." I began to take the ornaments off the tree. I then noticed the ladder was creaking a bit and bending slightly. I then feel something I haven't really felt in a long time: panic…

What if the ladder broke and Darlene fell? "D-Darlene…" I said, suddenly stuttering a little. I cleared my throat and spoke again. "Is there another ladder?"

"No. Why?" she asked as she took the lights off. Just then, the ladder cracked and broke, causing Darlene and the lights to fall, her arms flailing in panic. I caught the female as she fell.

"You okay?" I asked. I then realized the lights had tangled themselves around her body. She opened her eyes and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Yea…" she mumbled. We stared at each other in silence for a bit. I feel my chest tighten a bit in nervousness, and I feel myself blush a little. She must have noticed because she smiled and giggled a little. "Um…Are you okay, Shadow? Hee hee…"

I tried to speak, but my voice got caught in my throat. I then, unconsciously, leaned forward to her. She stayed where she was and closed her eyes, as if waiting for something to happen. I pulled her closer to me, our lips almost touching…

Then my ears picked up the sound of footsteps. Someone's coming. I start untangling her as she opened her eyes and looked at me in disappointment. I gestured over to Rouge, who was watching us, to try and explain why I stopped.

"I heard something crash," Rouge said to us, "What happened?"

"The ladder collapsed on me while I was getting the lights. Luckily, no one was hurt, and nothing was broken," Darlene explained.

"So you got saved by your knight in shining armor?" Rouge asked her.

We both blushed a little at what she called me. "Rouge, it's not like that! We're just friends!"

"If you are just friends, then why are you acting like your hiding your feelings?"

"I-I'm not!" Darlene shouted at the bat. She then got up and walked back to the tree to remove the rest of the decorations on it.

"What's with you?" I asked Rouge, "Ever since we met Pearl, you've been teasing everyone. Mostly the other girls."

"I don't know," she answered, "It's just…everyone has that one secret that they think no one should know."

"Okay, what's _yours_?" I challenged.

"What?"

"What's _your_ secret?" I repeated.

"It's not really a secret anymore."

"You kidding?" I asked incredulously.

"Yep. Remember that I was a jewel thief before joining G.U.N?"

"Well, you're not anymore," I told her, "And I don't think Darlene likes me that way." I watched the brown hedgehog as I tried to imagine how she would act if she did like me.

"But you do."

"_What?!"_

"You like Darlene that way, don't you?"

She nudged my right arm, and I sighed. "No, I don't. She's my best friend. She may not be able to replace Maria, but she is definitely similar to her."

The bat frowned. "Well, somebody's in denial."

I crossed my arms. "Even if I was, would I tell you I loved Darlene?"

Rouge stayed silent. "Good point."

Darlene then took down the tree and put it outside.

"I thought that tree was fake," Rouge said.

"Tails told me to put it outside," Darlene responded, "He said it makes a good decoration for the mansion."

Silence. "O…kay…?" Rouge said awkwardly. She then checked her phone. "Oh! Look at the time! I better go! Bye!" We waved to her as she ran off.

After a while, I asked Darlene, "Darlene? Let's say you were in love with me. What would you do to show it?"

Darlene looked at me and replied, "I would do everything I can to make sure your happy. Even if you were with someone else, I'd make your happiness a priority." She looked down at the ground shyly. "W-why do you want to know?"

"Rouge brought something up that made me think about it." I paused for a minute, and then I continue. "So you'd do what you're already doing now."

I noticed her cheeks turn a light pink as she said, "Y-yeah… As long as my friends are happy, I'm happy."

Hmm…she's making it seem like she does it for everyone. "Okay then. What if I joined Eggman again? Would you stay with your friends, or would you join me?"

She hesitated and avoided eye contact with me. "I, uh…don't know how to answer that…I-I'd better go help Sonic with the house…" And with that, she left.

_I thought so…_I thought to myself as I watched her leave. It seems like she does like me. I'll keep my knowledge a secret, though she better not be surprised if I start being a bit more affectionate towards her.

*_ Sayōnara_\- (Japanese) Goodbye


	10. Chapter 9: Bullies

Darlene's POV:

Oh gosh, why did I run away like that?! I'm so embarrassed! I grab my phone and write a text to Shadow. "Sorry for running off like that. I don't know what came over me."

I put the phone in my coat pocket, only to feel it vibrate. _That's odd,_ I thought, _Shadow rarely responds to text messages. _But as I take it out again, sure enough, Shadow had replied. "It's fine. We can always meet each other somewhere and talk later."

I stop in my tracks. Shadow wants to talk to me later? "Really?" I type, "Where?"

Another response. "Maybe the pizza place you, Sonic, and Tails eat at every once in awhile?"

I feel my pound harder in my chest. Is Shadow...? "Um...Are you asking me out on a date? Just curious."

This time, it takes him a bit to respond. "I guess you can call it that if you want to. ;)" _He put in a winking face! He _never_ does that!_ I thought as I stared at it in shock. After I read it, I got another one. "Just a minute: I'm having an argument with Rouge."

I giggle after reading it. I wonder if Rouge saw Shadow's texts.

"Oh my Chaos, you are so pathetic! Why were we even friends with you?!"

I put my phone back in its pocket and looked up to see a pink bunny and light blue porcupine ganging up on a purple cat. Said cat looked like she was trying not to snap and cry or even attack. Her voice shook a bit as she spoke, though. "I-I'm not pathetic. You're pathetic for needing to bully m-me to feel better about yourselves."

The pink bunny gave a mean look at her. "I'm not _bullying_ you. I'm just stating the truth."

"No you're not," I say, stepping in front of the cat, "No one is pathetic. Now stop bullying this girl and do something nice for a change."

Just then, the porcupine pushed me onto the ground, my phone slipping out of its hiding place. The bunny saw it and picked it up. It looked like she turned it on and was looking through my texts.

"Aww, how sweet," she said sarcastically, "Your boyfriend wants to go on a date with you."

"He's not my boyfriend!" I said, glaring at her as I got up. She only glared back and threw my phone to the sidewalk, smashing it with her high heel afterwards. Rage fueled inside me, though I kept calm the best I could and said slowly, "If you know. What's good for you. Leave. The girl. Alone!"

"Why should we? She's worthless! A waste of life!" the bunny spat. I looked at the one being spoken about, only to see her eyes were glassy. Without warning, I held my hand out in front of me, and a spark shot out of it, zapping the bunny. "OW!" She held her upper arm in pain.

"I could have done worse. But I won't do that. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind!" I shout at them, unable to hold in my anger anymore. The porcupine did so immediately, but the bunny took a second to growl at me before following her partner. I turn to the purple cat, who stared at me in wonder. "Sorry you had to see that. It's not everyday anger gets the best of me."

"That was amazing! Thank you so much, miss!"

"Call me Darlene," I tell her, holding out a hand. She shakes it and says, "Molly Cat. Sorry you got into this. I should've known Stacy and Cathy weren't true friends."

"People can be crafty," I said flatly, "Well, I gotta hurry home; I'll have to borrow a phone to call my friend back."

Before I go, she grabs a piece of paper and writes something down before giving it to me. "It's my phone number. For when you get a new phone."

"Thanks," I say before heading off for home.


	11. Apology

Hello.

I deeply apologize for being so inactive on here. I haven't really been motivated to write a lot, and when I am, I get distracted.

I'm working on Night 2 of Memories right now, and I will continue my FNaF stories as well as Tainted Hero.

Though I can't say the same for The Guardian of the Wind. I'm putting that in my 'cancelled until further notice' category of stories.

So you can expect Night 2 sometime soon...if I can get around to finishing it...


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